In a previous blog post (March 12, 2010), I busted the Big, Bad Productivity Myth that menial or most hated tasks should be tackled at the beginning of the day. The truth: it is far better to to take on the most profitable tasks first, and leave the "must do" tasks until the end of the day, when you are already drained.
A reader asked for the research and theoretical concept behind this myth-busting. If you are also interested in the research, or you just want to know why we do our best thinking in the shower (I promise, the two tie in together), then read on!
Each person has finite ergs of conative energy, and though all striving activities drain that energy, activities which go against our natural instincts drain our energy faster and produce less results. So, it makes sense to put our limited energy into those things that align with our strengths and achieve results. Similarly, it makes sense to put little to no striving energy into those tasks that require us to go against our grain but, instead, convert those activities into mindless habits. Think, for example, of how many times you've come up with fantastic ideas in the shower. It was most likely because you've performed the task of showering so many times that it has become a mindless habit. Since you put no striving energy into the activity, your mind and instincts are free to wonder. But, what if I told you to reverse your showering routine? How would that alter the experience? And would you still consider it a mindless habit (at least initially)?
Raymond Cattell, in 1947, was the first to connect the term "erg" with our measurement of conative energy in his "The ergic theory of attitude and sentiment measurement" from the Educational and Psychological Measurement. Proof for the finite nature of our conative energy is rather intuitive. Think about your physical energy. There is a clear point when you can no longer exert physical energy -- think of runners that fall exhausted at the end of a race. No amount of will power could keep their physical energy going -- it has simply run out, been used up. And in this instance, the only way for the runner to regain physical strength is to rest. The same is true of conative energy. There is a point when a high Fact Finder can no longer research. Likewise, high Quick Starts can reach a point of inability to brainstorm. The only remedy for conative exhaustion is to rest (a.k.a do non-striving (recreational) activities...or frankly, do nothing!).
So with all of this in mind, think back to the idea of taking on your most hated tasks at the beginning of the day (the implication is that these tasks go against your instincts). You have a finite amount of energy to exert at the beginning of the day, and if you throw that energy into a highly depleting task, then you will be left quickly exhausted with little to show for it. If, however, you throw those "fresh" ergs of energy into your strengths, you will accomplish much. Thus, you can broach those hated, menial tasks at the end of the day, when they are forced to become mindless habits (since, at that point, you simply have little to no conative energy left to give them).
A reader asked for the research and theoretical concept behind this myth-busting. If you are also interested in the research, or you just want to know why we do our best thinking in the shower (I promise, the two tie in together), then read on!
Each person has finite ergs of conative energy, and though all striving activities drain that energy, activities which go against our natural instincts drain our energy faster and produce less results. So, it makes sense to put our limited energy into those things that align with our strengths and achieve results. Similarly, it makes sense to put little to no striving energy into those tasks that require us to go against our grain but, instead, convert those activities into mindless habits. Think, for example, of how many times you've come up with fantastic ideas in the shower. It was most likely because you've performed the task of showering so many times that it has become a mindless habit. Since you put no striving energy into the activity, your mind and instincts are free to wonder. But, what if I told you to reverse your showering routine? How would that alter the experience? And would you still consider it a mindless habit (at least initially)?
Raymond Cattell, in 1947, was the first to connect the term "erg" with our measurement of conative energy in his "The ergic theory of attitude and sentiment measurement" from the Educational and Psychological Measurement. Proof for the finite nature of our conative energy is rather intuitive. Think about your physical energy. There is a clear point when you can no longer exert physical energy -- think of runners that fall exhausted at the end of a race. No amount of will power could keep their physical energy going -- it has simply run out, been used up. And in this instance, the only way for the runner to regain physical strength is to rest. The same is true of conative energy. There is a point when a high Fact Finder can no longer research. Likewise, high Quick Starts can reach a point of inability to brainstorm. The only remedy for conative exhaustion is to rest (a.k.a do non-striving (recreational) activities...or frankly, do nothing!).
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